In article <[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask] (R norv) says: ... >One of the money-spinning ideas arising from the meetings involved >encouraging school group visits. I heard one of these groups being told >that the holes (stomata) in plant leaves were there to let in the light. > >Has anyone else noticed a similar trend ? > ... I've seen institutions lose technical expertise in the past, partly because management didn't think it was important, and partly because the naturalists, historians, educators, whatever, didn't make their contribution known in the organisation. It may be a trend that the war baby cohort is retiring, and better-dressed boomers with different ideas are replacing them. I'm not sure what trend you were referring to--retiring naturalists, suits, school programmes, or stomata. It seems that the visitors do value expertise however. Open house, 'meet the curator' programmes usually have attentive audiences. THey may not want a verbal thesis, but at least the feeling that they are getting the 'truth'. I have found that expertise is an important factor in why people visit museums, and we have begun to stress knowledge about the exhibits for the visitor services floor staff, as it is correlated to overall visitor satisfaction. Institutions that are not in touch with their visitors can easily let slip away the things that give them value in people's eyes. It sounds like your museum may be doing this--unfortunate. You didn't say what your job was in your museum. I presume you don't wear a suit :-) ************************************************************* Doug Hoy Evaluation National Museum of [log in to unmask] & Science & Technology (613)998-6863v Research P.O.Box 9724, Station T (613)990-3654f Ottawa K1G 5A3 CANADA **Opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by the NMSTC** *************************************************************